The Philadelphia 76ers acquired James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets back at the deadline as they move forward with a new star duo starring Harden with Joel Embiid. Considering the way Embiid is tearing up the league in the 2021-22 season, now is the time for Philadelphia to strike.
Harden has yet to play for the Sixers as he continues to nurse a hamstring injury, but after the team decided to hold him out through the All-Star break, the Sixers look to welcome him back on Feb. 25 when they return from the break on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on “NBA Today”, the Sixers expect Harden to make his debut right after the break:
I was told today that the expectation is he’ll be ready to play coming out of the All-Star break and he’ll be able to make his Sixers debut and you talk about where Joel Embiid is in his career right now at at its apex and that was such a big part of the James Harden trade that this organization is all in on these next couple of years to win a title. Maybe try to win multiple titles, but that’s what the James Harden trade signaled to you and it speaks to where Joel Embiid is right now. The most dominant force in the league this season.
The Sixers are now sitting at 35-23 entering the break and they are the No. 3 seed in the East. They have 24 games left before the playoffs begin. That is not a lot of time for Harden to be integrated with the team and get things done before the postseason, but the Sixers will certainly continue to give this thing a push and make it work with a future Hall of Famer and the probable MVP of the league in Embiid.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01eqbvq570kgj8vfs7 image=https://sixerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=60290]
[lawrence-related id=60305,60302,60296]